Digital Story

My take on how the internet can make us better people.

http://fosterking6.wix.com/digitalstory

Snowden

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/08/09/edward-snowden-patriot/ Obama began the news conference by announcing a series of reforms meant to increase the transparency of, and the constraints on, the National Security Agency's surveillance programs. They included reforms to Section 215 of the Patriot Act, which enables the collection of telephone metadata; changes to the powerful surveillance courts to ensure "that the government’s position is challenged by an adversary"; declassification of key NSA documents; and the formation of "a high-level group of outside experts to review our entire intelligence and communications technologies." "What makes us different from other countries is not simply our ability to secure our nation," Obama said. "It’s the way we do it, with open debate and democratic process." If that's so, then Edward Snowden should be hailed as a hero. There's simply no doubt that his leaks led to more open debate and more democratic process than would've existed otherwise. Obama reluctantly admitted as much. "There’s no doubt that Mr. Snowden’s leaks triggered a much more rapid and passionate response than would have been the case if I had simply appointed this review board," he said, though he also argued that absent Snowden, "we would have gotten to the same place, and we would have done so without putting at risk our national security and some very vital ways that we are able to get intelligence that we need to secure the country." As Tim Lee writes, this is dubious at best. Prior to Snowden's remarks, there was little public debate — in part because the federal government was preventing it. When Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) asked for a “ballpark figure” of the number of Americans whose information was being collected by the NSA last year, the agency refused to give the senator any information, arguing that doing so would violate the privacy of those whose information was collected. In March, at a Congressional hearing, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper answered “no sir” when Wyden asked whether the NSA had collected “any type of data at all on millions of Americans.” We now know his statement was incorrect. That was the state of the debate prior to Snowden: The Director of National Intelligence went before Congress, was given an opportunity to give the American people a clear and balanced picture on some of these programs, and basically lied. And no one from the Obama administration came out that day, or the next day, or the next week, to correct the record. It was only after Snowden's leak that Clapper apologized. Obama allowed that "those who have lawfully raised their voices on behalf of privacy and civil liberties are also patriots who love our country and want it to live up to our highest ideals." But most all of those people would say Snowden strengthened their hand immeasurably. Obama's frustration with Snowden is that he interrupted what could have been "a lawful, orderly examination of these laws; a thoughtful, fact-based debate." The White House believes Snowden's leaks — and the drip-drip-drip way the Guardian released them — left the public misinformed. And at times, that's certainly true. The initial reports on PRISM, for instance, clearly suggested that the program was wider in scope than it actually is. But the White House could have led that thoughtful, fact-based debate, and despite Obama's protestations to the contrary, they didn't. They prevented it. If this conversation, and these reforms, are as positive for the country as Obama says they are, then it's hard to escape the conclusion that Snowden did the country a real service — even if the White House can't abide crediting him with it. This article found on the Washington Post is in favor of Snowden and claiming him as a Patriot. The article is set up as a rebuttal to the idea that the concepts that Snowden brought to life in his information he exposed. President Obama claims that the information he outed was already being looked at and would have been solved in due time. This however is not true because before this incident the information he exploited was classified and the citizens had no knowledge of anything of this sort going on. Without Snowden the information would have never gotten to the people and it is because it got to the people that the government is now under pressure to make changes. Without this pressure fro the citizens this would have been over looked and not taken into account. The face that the President is claiming that there was already measures in place to solve the issue shows that the government views him as a traitor because there is no evidence that anything would have been without Snowden.

Gender Codes

Foster, Justin, Matt, August Gender Codes

Discussion Questions - You Soup

1. Have you ever been stereotyped? And do you think that this stereotype was accurate? Explain the scenario and describe how you felt. (judged, attacked, etc.)

2. How do you think people become who they are? Do you believe that people are born with traits that make them develop into who they are today, or do you think that the situations people are placed help develop them? Give an example from your life on how you think that you came to be who you are today.

3. How do you think that judgement and prejudice affects minority groups that are stereotyped today? Do you think that stereotyping will ever go away? If not explain how you think it will change in the future.

4. Do you yourself think that you stereotype? Who or what do you stereotype, and why do you think that you do this?

Social Action proposal

                Electronic waste is classified as any obsolete phone, computer, camera, or any other type of technology that needs to be disposed of. Due to the increase of technology from the information-age, electronic waste makes up the largest amount of waste in the United States. The reason that disposing of electronics is a problem is because the chemicals and elements contained inside of the devices can be extremely dangerous to the environment and even to people if exposed. The common chemicals are : lead which is found in cathode ray tubes, arsenic which is found in older cathode ray tubes, mercury which is found in switches, anatomy trioxide as a flame retardant, cadmium in circuit boards and semi-conductors, chromium in steel as corrosion protection, cobalt in steel for structural strength, and the list goes on and on. The reason that these materials are used instead of environmentally friendly ones is because the factories that assemble the machines and devices are made to use these already so switching materials would be costly. It is also pricier to purchase the eco-friendly materials because they aren’t as abundant. If the materials are so toxic then why wouldn’t we just recycle them safely? This is the question that is maddening to me because we choose to export our waste to other countries knowing fully well that they are causing harm. We send our waste to third world countries for a price that is much cheaper than disposing of the waste correctly. As long as the choice is in the corporations’’ hands there will be tons of E-waste.

                The social action method that caught my eye guerilla art. This is the method of using art as a form of advertisement to inform the people about the issues at hand. It has been used in many ways but the most notable guerilla artist is Keri Smith. She has used art in many forms to get her message across. The most risky being graffiti. She would tag buildings leaving her beliefs and message behind informing anyone who walked by. I myself do not plan on defacing any building, but I think that there are many other types of forms that I can utilize in order to convey my message. I think that if I use sidewalk chalk to inform the students at John Carroll to not discard of their electronics dangerously my message could be heard. I plan on writing it in front of all of the major buildings and making posters that will inform the students about a safe place to discard phones and cables, printers, etc. I would write in chalk a saying asking the students if they know where their waste is going, and then also write the location of the disposable for them to discard their waste. The reason I think this could work is because personally I have learned about a lot of events from people writing  with chalk on the sidewalk and the posters will also be effective because if they are placed by the cafeteria where people stand in line it will give them a chance to be read by students. 

Third Blog (Workinghands.com)

Since it was created, Lynkedin.com has been the most popular way for people seeking work to post their resumes for companies to see, list their work experience, get in contact with potential employers and update their profiles to make themselves seem as good employees. This resource however is more aimed towards the white collared crowd. Employers that use the site are those of business, IT, political science, etc. There is a disadvantage for blue collared workers attempting to find work because the employers that they need to get in touch with are not using the site. So this is where workinghands.com comes into play. This website  is aimed towards blue collared workers in an attempt to help them find work easier. Now all the plumbers, electricians, and carpenters will be able to use the same site to find work. This is involving social justice because the site is using technology to reach out to the middle class potentially. This is an attempt to help out the majority of workers in the United States to help bring down the unemployment rate.

Comic Strips

Third Blog (Twitter Emergency)

Millions of people are now on the social media website Twitter. This booming website is used for people to update their friends and family on what is going on in their life. However the site just added a new feature that can change how Twitter is used for many. Twitter Alerts is a new service offered that allows Government agencies to send emergency notifications to users that sign up for the service. The feature is aimed to be used to inform people of natural disasters and crisis. The inspiration for this was the ability that Twitter had to inform millions of people about the Boston bombings and Hurricane Sandy. Understandably anyone would question the need for this service saying why couldn't they just turn on the news. And that is exactly why this service will be so helpful because it will be for people who can't just turn on the news as they are out and just have their phones with them. It makes for a safer spread of instructions during tornadoes, hurricanes, etc. This way people will be able to take cover and take the necessary steps to stay safe before it is too late. The reason this is related to social justice is that for this case digital media is being positively used for social justice in informing citizens of emergency situations. This also shows the entanglement that social media is having in our lives. The fact that it was at first thought of as a fun way to keep in touch with friends and is now being viewed as a resource to for safety. It is just interesting how much the world is changing, so long amber alerts, welcome Twitter Alerts.

Second Blog (Last Straw for the Browns)

This past week Cleveland sports fans received some of the most depressing news that they have in quite some while. The Cleveland Browns decided to trade away Trent Richardson who was the only elite player our offense has seen in years. The trade happened after he only played 17 games for the football club and his rookie season stats were resembled that of Jim Brown who is regarded as the best running back of all-time. This display of ignorance by the Browns was the last straw for many fans and they took to social media to display their disgust of the decision. Twitter and Facebook were flooded with rants and complaints from fans of all ages. Even youtube was receiving hits of videos of analysts and reporters dialing in their two cents about the preposterous trade. This shows how social media gives people a voice to air out their opinions and let the world know how  they feel. The reports were receiving attention from the organization and in that the Browns attempted to clear the air about their intentions. This still didn't sit well with fans as many have declared their love for the Browns to be terminated with this decision. The social media aspect of this though helped spread the hate in this situation. When fans saw other fans voicing their opinions and disgust it inspired them to do the same. This is what resulted in the avalanche of news about the deal that happened. Without the social media, uninformed fans could have been indifferent about the topic. But because they could see experts claiming that it was a bad trade it influenced them to believe that it was  too. This happens often with news and social media and biased reports often help influence people because it is what the common person sees daily.

What is technology? Class discussion

For our class discussion, I would like t ask the class a few things that I took from the reading and am curious about:

1. What is the criteria for an object to be considered technology in your opinion?

2. Is technology today considered mostly electronics? Does this give our country advantages over other countries without these forms of technology?

3. How do you see technology advancing in the future? Is there a limit that will halt the advancement of it?

4. What is the most important piece of technology you use daily?

5. How would you define technology?

1. Foster King, Solon OH

2. Foster

4. I play on the soccer team here at JCU and I am from around Cleveland so I really like the area and will always support Cleveland sports.

5. I really have to be interested in the topic or class to be fully enthused with the content but other than that I am comfortable talking in front of the class and sharing my ideas.

6. I believe that the internet was the most important technological invention because it allowed for the spread of news and ideas across the world faster than ever before. Anything you need to know can be found with the click of a button.

7. My iPhone, laptop, TV, lights, razor, car

8. 1. I am pretty comfortable with computers and plan on majoring in computer science, I pretty much just use my laptop for web surfing and writing papers though.
    2. I am not very familiar with digital media and don't have any experience working with it.
    3. I am very familiar with social media as I have a Twitter and Facebook and most of my friends have Instagrams. This is my first time having a blog though.

9. How did you become interested in technology? How is technology going to be related to social justice?